St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-06-04
HOW JONES LOST HIS HEAD.
A Weird Story of the Dangers of Hunting
Life in Australia.

! So you think our friend Jones is a little
/ off his head, do you? Well, I can assure
| some of you young fellows you would be
! still more off yours had you been sat upon
| in the way our poor Jones was, and that to
! my certain knowledge.
You would like to hear how it happened? l?
Well, don't mind telling you. It may
serve as a warning as to how to drink, what
! you drink and where you drink. A long
preface to a story is bore simply wish
| to bessn mine with the remark that il is a
very short one a very sad and altogether a
true one, and | expect you to believe It as
such.
| Well Jones and l. when stationed at the
| Cape, took leave for some three months for
a shooting trip up country. 1t was nearly
! the last day Of our leave and we were bent
on making the most of it, and by four o clock
| in the afternoon we had had pretty hard
and successful day. We had been shooting
siderably tired, SO I suggested a rest under
some jolly mimosa bushes we had lit upon
"All right" said Jones. ''Smoke your
| pipe, old fellow. I'll just take a look round
| these bushes and join you in no time
Jones was a more energetic and stronger
fellow than was, SO off he went, leaving me
smoking my pipe; believe before thepipe
l did awake, found by the sun had slept
some considerable time, and wondered very
much at not seeing Jones somewhere near.
| picked up my gum thinking to myself,
"Oh. I shall find him asleep close by, or
hear his gun if he is still at it, l hadn't
walked 500 yards before saw sight that
made my blood run cold, and struck me
with the utmost horror and alright I saw
the legs and shoulders of my friend Jones,
but at the place where his head should be,
as true as my name is Bill Sykes, there sat
a, huge ostrich I was completely taken
aback. bad heard of the digestion of the
ostrich. | felt not the least doubt that
Jones head was at that moment being di-
gested by that brute. Full Of rageI sprang
forward, and with the butt end of my gun
/ knocked the huge creature some dozen
yards to the side, and then turning to look
at the mangled corpse of my friend, picture
my wonderment and delight to behold him
ders, but looking all the world over like
little infant in its mothers arms, peace
fully asleep. l shook him. called
to him, and with the greatest diff
Guilty I reused him up Sufficiently to
make him sit up and speak to me. From
what he said and from my own observation
thisis what had taken place After leaving
nothing. All at once he discovered lying
snugly in the sand and close to a bush three
or four ostrich eggs. Feeling tired and very
thirsty he dropped his gun, ran to the nest,
and skillfully puncturing a hole in one OF
the eggs, he lay quietly down and proceeded
to suck up the contents Git was newly laid.
Unnoticed by him large female ostrich
walked slowly and majestically from the
other side of the bush, and he being equally
unnoticed by her, she proceeded to seat
herself calmly on her nest no doubt with
view to assist in the Matching of these same
eggs ian unusual attention on the part of
these birds), or perhaps the laying another.
Tl.-A r.. L AN
the fierce nature Of the monster, and its
great strength. He dare not move. He
tried to think what he should do-What
best-and SO wondering and thinking his
mind began to wander. He seemed to lose
bis head. He thought he fell asleep. |
know not about that. AllIdo know is, you
need not wonder that Jones is an old fellow,
for whenI aroused him up from under that
ostrich his brain was added, and has been
ever sirce.-M Melbourne Aduertiser.